Cyril Hammond Elgee (18 October 1871 – 17 August 1917) was a British colonial administrator in Nigeria, based in
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
at the time when the basic colonial institutions were being established. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1914–18) he was Acting Commissioner of
Montserrat
Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
for a period.
Early years
Cyril Hammond Elgie (he later changed his surname to Elgee) was born on 18 October 1871, eldest son of the Reverend Walter Francis Elgie.
His mother was Catherine, daughter of Colonel F. Hammond of the 75th Regiment and widow of Captain Webber of the 42nd regiment.
She died on 25 February 1881.
Cyril was admitted to
Lancing College
Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
as a scholar in May 1885, and left in July 1889.
He was admitted to the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...
in 1890.
Career
In 1892 Elgee became a second lieutenant in the Bedfordshire Regiment.
He was made a lieutenant in 1893. In 1895 he served with the
Chitral Relief Expedition.
He was promoted to captain in 1899.
On 28 October 1899 it was reported that Elgee had been seconded for service to the Colonial Office.
Appointed 1 January 1903, and taking up his post in February 1903, he was the British Resident in
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
, Nigeria from February 1903 until 1913.
He succeeded F.C. Fuller as resident in Ibadan.
Elgee treated the leading people of Ibadan with courtesy and respect.
However, he was not approachable by the ordinary people.
In 1903 Elgee wrote of "the rapid strides of late made by the people in economical and political progress.
There was growing demand for post office services and for plots of land.
Six European firms were established by 1903, and twenty-five German, English, French and Brazilian firms had branches in Ibadan by 1906.
Elgee wrote of the legal framework in 1904,
Based on agreements with
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
authorities, the colonial authorities gained jurisdiction to try certain types of civil offence involving non-native people, and certain types of criminal offence whether they involved natives or foreigners. A modified form of English laws was introduced.
Elgee established the Ibadan Native Government, opened the Treasury, Customs. Police and Secretariat, and engaged clerks.
He resigned his army commission in 1904.
In 1906 he founded the Baale's school to provide training to the sons on the local chiefs.
The school was not a success since the chiefs would not send their sons there despite pressure from the British authorities.
Shipping records show Captain C. H. Elgee returning to England from West Africa on 4 May 1907, 16 September 1910, 23 April 1912 and 14 December 1913.
Elgee was Acting-Commissioner, Montserrat in 1915.
In 1916 there was correspondence about employment of Captain C. H. Elgee by the government in
Montserrat
Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
.
Elgee died on 17 August 1917, aged 45.
St Mathew's Church,
Otterbourne
Otterbourne is a village in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately south of Winchester and north of Southampton. At the 2011 census, its population was 1,539, and there were 626 dwellings.
There are three public houses in the village: ...
has a brass wall plaque in his memory and that of his brother Hugh Francis Elgee, who was killed in action at Gallipoli in 1915.
Their father had been vicar of the parish.
Publications
Elgee's publications included:
*''Ensigns of Royalty in West Africa'' .Journal of the Royal African Society. Volume 4, 16 July 1905. pp. 391–396.
*''Western Equatorial Africa'', Diocesan Magazine, 16, 193, July 1910. Western Nigerian Ministry of Local Government.
*''The Evolution of Ibadan'', 1914. University of Oxford: Weston Library; MSS.Afr.s.1169. 59 pages of typescript.
In 1908 he proposed the theory that Nigeria could be the location of
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
.
Several years later
Leo Frobenius
Leo Viktor Frobenius (29 June 1873 – 9 August 1938) was a German self-taught ethnologist and archaeologist and a major figure in German ethnography.
Life
He was born in Berlin as the son of a Prussian officer and died in Biganzolo, Lago Ma ...
proposed a similar theory.
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elgee, Cyril Hammond
1871 births
1917 deaths
Military personnel from Winchester
Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
British people in British Nigeria
People educated at Lancing College
British Army personnel of World War I
People from the City of Winchester
History of Ibadan
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers